The History of West Virginia, Old and New
Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc.,
Chicago and New York, Volume III,
pg. 411-412

WILLIAM REPPERT, the popular superintendent of the
Peerless Coal Mine Company at Buckhannon, Upshur
County, was born in Preston County, West Virginia, Decem-
ber 17, 1883, and is a son of A. D. and Mary (Fortney)
Reppert, the former of whom was born in Monongalia
County, this state, March 3, 1851, about a decade prior
to the separation of West Virginia from the mother state
of Virginia. Mrs. Mary (Fortney) Reppert was born in
Preston County, in 1854, was there reared and educated
and there her marriage occurred. A. D. Reppert was reared
at Morgantown, judicial center of his native county, and
after his marriage he settled in Preston County, where he
became superintendent of an ore plant. He later turned
his attention to agricultural enterprise, of which he still
continues a successful exponent in that county. He is a
republican, is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and both he and
his wife are active church members. Of the ten children
all are living except one, four being residents of Upshur
County, one of Preston County, one of Maryland, one of
Michigan and one of Pennsylvania.

The public schools of his native county afforded William
Reppert his early education, and he initiated his associa-
tion with the coal-mining industry by taking employment
in Marion County. He gave special attention to study in
the engineering department of the industry, and with this
department he continued his active association ten years,
at the expiration of which, in 1909, he became a mine fore-
man in Marion County. He was thus engaged one year
and for the ensuing three years was a mine engineer in
Fayette County. In 1913 he became a mine foreman in
Upshur County, and here his ability and effective service
has led to his advancement to his present office, that of
superintendent for the Peerless Mine Company, with head-
quarters at Buckhannon, the county seat, where he owns
his attractive home property, at 100 South Florida Street.
At Beccley, Raleigh County, he is affiliated with Beckley
Lodge No. 95, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. He
is a republican in politics, and he and his wife hold mem-
bership in the Christian Church.

October 9, 1910, recorded the marriage of Mr. Reppert
and Miss Minnie R. Fortney, of Marion County, she hav-
ing been graduated from the high school and also from
the State Normal School at Fairmont and having taught
school for one year. Mr. and Mrs. Reppert have two chil-
dren: Oliver, born August 11, 1911; and William, Jr.,
born July 8, 1918.

The History of West Virginia, Old and New
Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc.,
Chicago and New York, Volume III,
pg. 411

JOHN A. SHARPS is the patentee of the excellent device
which gives basis for the conducting of one of the im-
portant industrial enterprises in the City of Buckhannon,
Upshur County. His window-shade invention is manufac-
tured by the Cutright-Sharps Company, and he was the
active manager of the well equipped factory of the com-
pany for three years.

Mr. Sharps was born in Marion County, this state, on
the 2d of August, 1871, and is a son of Jesse and Priscilla
C. (Nichols) Sharps, both likewise natives of that county.
The father had exceptional natural ability as a mechanic,
and he was a skilled workman as a carpenter, wagonmaker
and shoemaker, besides which he became a prosperous
farmer in Upshnr County, where he owned an excellent
farm of 127 acres, upon which he was residing at the
time of his death. He was a deacon in the Baptist Church
for more than thirty years, was a democrat in politics, was
affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and
his wife was a member of the adjunct organization, the
Daughters of Rebekah, besides being a devoted member
of the Baptist Church. Of the five children four are liv-
ing: William H., who was formerly in service as a locomo-
tive engineer, is now a mechanic at Clarksburg, this state;
Nancy is the widow of Joseph Kiddy; Thomas G. is em-
ployed in a sawmill at Elkins; and John A. is the imme-
diate subject of this sketch. The daughter, Mary J., is
the deceased wife of John W. Kiddy.

John A. Sharps was a boy at the time of the family re-
moval to the farm in Upshur County, and he gained his
youthful education in the public schools of this county. He
early manifested exceptional mechanical skill, and for a
number of years he was actively identified with lumbering
operations in this section of West Virginia. He was em-
ployed by a number of the leading lumber companies, and
in the meanwhile he exhibited his mechanical genius by
inventing a number of devices, of which the most im-
portant is the window shade which bears his name and for
the manufacture of which the Cutright-Sharps Company
was organized and incorporated and the manufacturing
plant established at Buckhannon. W. T. McWorter is
president of the company, Dr. O. B. Beer is its vice presi-
dent, C. K. McCally is secretary and treasurer, and H. M.
Wade is sales manager. The enterprise is proving success-
ful, as a valuable contribution to the industrial and com-
mercial activities of Buckhannon. Mr. Sharps was the
active manager and superintendent of the factory. He
is a stockholder and director of the company, is the owner
of a fine fruit farm of thirty-four acres seventeen miles
distant from Bnckhannon, and is especially successful as
a grower of the finest types of apples. His political alle-
giance is given to the republican party, he is affiliated
with Centerville Lodge No. 81, Ancient Free and Accepted
Masons, and he and his wife hold membership in the United
Brethren Church. The maiden name of Mrs. Sharps was
Lydia F. Cutright, and she is a member of one of the
representative families of Upshur County. Mr. and Mrs.
Sharps have six children: Edna (Mrs. Harmon Pringle),
Coy W., Julia (Mrs. Lester Cain) Elsie G., Dessie C. and
Oleta.

The History of West Virginia, Old and New
Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc.,
Chicago and New York, Volume III,
pg. 411

HAROLD T. STURM is mine engineer of the Philmont coal
mine of the Hercules & Pittsburgh Coal Company, and
also of the Hesper Mine, all in Upshur County, and he
maintains his home at Buckhannon, the county seat.

Mr. Stum was born in Harrison County, West Vir-
ginia, October 26, 1896, and in the same county were born
his parents, John J. and Leila (Tetrick) Sturm, who now
reside at Shinnston, that county, where the father is liv-
ing virtually retired, he having for a number of years
been successfully engaged in business as a contractor in
railroad construction. John J. Sturm is a past master
of St. John’s Lodge No. 24, Ancient Free and Accepted
Masons, at Shinnston, and a Knight Templar, is a stalwart
republican and has served as a member of the County
Court of Harrison County. Of the four children Harold
T., of this review, is the eldest; Richard, a graduate of
the Shinnston High School is, in 1921, a student in Wash-
ington and Lee University in Virginia; Frank is attend-
ing the Shinnston High School; and Robert is attending
the public schools of that city.

Harold T. Sturm was reared in West Virginia and Ohio,
in each of which states he attended the public schools.
Since his graduation from the high school at Shinnston
he has given his active attention to mine engineering from
the time of initiating his independent career, and he has
gained his standing in his chosen field of service. He
is aligned loyally in the ranks of the republican party,
and in the time-honored Masonic fraternity has received
the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, besides be-
ing a member of the Mystic Shrine, while his basic affilia-
tion is with St. John’s Lodge No. 24, Ancient Free and
Accepted Masons, at Shinnston.

In September, 1915, was solemnized the marriage of
Mr. Sturm and Miss Aladine Bassel, who completed her
education by attending the West Virginia Wesleyan Col-
lege and who is a popular figure in the representative
social activities of Buckhannon.

The History of West Virginia, Old and New
Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc.,
Chicago and New York, Volume III,
pg. 414

HOMER O. VAN TROMP, M. D. The medical and surgical
practice of the French Creek community in Upshur County
is ably looked after by Doctor Van Tromp, who was born
and grew up in this community and has made a splendid
record in his chosen profession. He has practiced here for
nearly ten years.

Doctor Van Tromp was born at French Creek Septem-
ber 26, 1877, son of John A. and Margaret (Ward) Van
Tromp. His father was born in Rockingham County, Vir-
ginia, in March, 1840, and at the age of eighteen came to
this section of West Virginia. He had acquired his early
education in his native state, and he also attended sub-
scription school in West Virginia. He was a student, and
for many years was a successful teacher. He served nine
months in the Twenty-fourth West Virginia Cavalry, and
was discharged at the close of war. After his marriage
he taught school in Upshur and Harrison counties, and
finally moved to French Creek to educate his children at
the old academy, and is still living at French Creek. He
is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and a
prohibitionist. John A. Van Tromp and wife had seven
children, one of whom died at the age of nineteen. Those
living are: John M., a teacher and surveyor in Upshur
County; Lulu, wife of Jerome Fultz, of Jane Lew, West
Virginia; Dr. Homer O.; Miss Iva L., who has been a
teacher; Miss Mary E.; and Aleta, who is a graduate of
the Fairmont State Normal and has been a teacher.

Dr. Homer O. Van Tromp was reared at French Creek,
attended the free schools there and took the work of the
summer normal schools. As a young man he studied elec-
tricity and steam engineering, and for a time was electri-
cian at the West Virginia State Reform School and was
also in Washington, District of Columbia, employed as
chief engineer at the National Training School for Boys.
For several years he had set his mind on a medical career,
and in preparation therefor he entered the Eclectic School
of Medicine at Cincinnati, where he was graduated in 1913,
and in the same year returned to French Creek to begin
practice. Doctor Van Tromp is a member of the County,
State and American Medical Associations. He is a busy
man in his profession, and at the same time takes a deep
interest in everything connected with the general welfare
and progress of the community. He is a stockholder in
the Bank of Adrian, in the Upshur County Fair Associa-
tion and the Buckhannon Chamber of Commerce. He is
a republican, a Presbyterian, and is affiliated with Rock
Cave Lodge No. 81, A. F. and A. M., and he and his wife
are members of Aletha Chapter of the Eastern Star.

In 1907 Doctor Van Tromp married Blanch E. Brooks,
a daughter of Adolphus Brooks and member of a prom-
inent family of educators and horticulturists in Upshur
County.

The History of West Virginia, Old and New
Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc.,
Chicago and New York, Volume III,
pg. 267-268
Upshur County

W. B. GOLDEN. A position of public trust is necessarily
indicative of the man who fills it. When the duties of an
office demanding a keen intellect, a never-failing diplomacy
and a strong moral courage, are, year after year, dis-
charged so satisfactorily that the public vote confirms
them successively on the same person, we may be imme-
diately assured that the individual who occupies the office
is possessed of the proper abilities. In this connection
mention is to be made of W. B. Golden, who was elected
to the office of superintendent of schools of Braxton
County in 1910, served four years and was elected again
in 1918 and is now serving his second term.

Mr. Golden was born in Upshur County, West Virginia
February 19, 1874, a son of A. B. and Celina (McCauley)
Golden, both natives of the same locality and both prod-
ucts of the farm and of the country schools. Prior to
her marriage Mrs. Golden had taught in the free schools
of her native county for several years. After their mar-
riage Mr. Golden turned his attention to farming, and
settled on a small farm near Rock Cave, but in 1884
disposed of his interests in that locality and moved to a
farm near Flatwoods, Braxton County, where they lived
until the death of Mr. Golden, which occurred September
3, 1900, after which Mrs. Golden disposed of the farm
and now resides at Walkersville, Lewis County, with her
youngest son. They were faithful members of the Meth-
odist Episcopal Church. Mr. Golden was a member of the
Improved Order of Rd Men, and his political faith was
as a democrat.

The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Golden were as
follows: W. B., of this review; Charles O, who is en-
gaged in farming in the State of Colorado; Eva, who is
the wife of M. H. Crawford, of Weston, West Virginia;
J. L., who is engaged in farming and the lumber business
at Rock Cave, this state; A. H., of Burnsville, Braxton
County; T. R, who is engaged in operating a farm in
Oklahoma; Oscar, who while working for the Government
as a trained nurse in the Philippine Islands, contracted
tuberculosis, from which he died; and Clyde, who resides
at home with his mother.

W. B. Golden was reared on a farm, but cared little
for agricultural pursuits, and when fifteen years of age
taught his first country school. He continued to follow
this vocation, in the meantime adding much to his store
of information by reading and home study courses.

He has been elected two terms of four years each to the
office of county superintendent of schools of his county.
In the superintendency, Mr. Golden has done much to
elevate the standards of the free schools of his county and
place them on a higher plane. He has made himself a
general favorite with teachers, pupils and parents, and
much of his success has been due to the fact that he knows
the needs of his county and is working with all the energy
at his command for the general betterment. So well has
he done his work as superintendent that he is regarded
as one of the best in the state and can no doubt be elected
again with little opposition.

On May 26, 1899, Mr. Golden married Miss Estella M.
Morrison, who was born in Braxton County and educated
in the public schools of her county. To this union were
born five children: Marvin L., a graduate of the high
school at Sutton and has since had two and one-half years
at the State University; Mary Marie, a graduate of the
Sntton High School and teaches in the graded school at
Flatwoods; Audrey, a student at the Flatwoods High
School; Opal and Edith, who are attending the graded
school at Flatwoods.

The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, South, in which Mr. Golden is superintendent of
the Sunday school. He is a member of the Improved Order
of Red Men, in which order he belongs to the State Great
Council, and in politics is a democrat.

The History of West Virginia, Old and New
Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc.,
Chicago and New York, Volume III,
pg. 412

IRA B. WESTFALL for a quarter of a century has car-
ried on a prosperous business as a building contractor over
Upshur and surrounding counties, but his home is on a
farm a mile east of Buckhannon, and with the aid of his
children he cultivates the land and takes an active part
in this agricultural community.

His birthplace was not far from the home where he lives
today. He was born August 17, 1872, son of Granville
D. and Martha E. (Day) Westfall. Few families ante-date
the arrival of the Westfall family in what is now West
Virginia. In 1772, three years before the beginning of the
Revolutionary war, his ancestor James Westfall came to
Randolph County and settled on the present site of Beverly.
The line of descent from James Westfall to Ira B. West-
fall leads through his son Zachariah, George Westfall who
married Ruhama Cutright, Watson Westfall, who married
Rachel Tinney, and Granville D. Westfall, who was born
in Upshur County March 4, 1848. He grew up on his
farm, made good use of his educational advantages and
for several years was a teacher. After his marriage he
settled on Sand Run, then moved to Buckhannon, and
finally to a farm nearby, where he died March 8, 1908.
He was one of the leaders of the United Brethren Church
of his community and was a democrat. Of his six chil-
dren the following are living: Ira B.; Lenora, wife of T.
W. Hinkle, of Buekhannon; Iva F., wife of A. M. Hughes,
of Akron, Ohio; and W. E. Westfall, a carpenter and
builder of Buckhannon.

Ira B. Westfall lived on the home farm until he was
twenty-one, acquired a common school education and
learned the trade of carpenter. He worked as a journey-
man carpenter for several years, but for the past quarter
of a century has done a business as a general contractor
and has had a share of the contracts in the general up-
building of this section of the state. He owns a business
house and dwelling in Clarksburg, and also has seventy-
six acres of farm land, his home farm comprising forty-
two acres.

Mr. Westfall married Ida C. Lowe, daughter of William
R. and Mary E. (Mowery) Lowe, natives of Virginia.
Mrs. Westfall was reared on a farm and had a common
school education. To their marriage were born twelve
children, all but one still living: Lottie M., born Septem-
ber 29, 1897, wife of Henry Ours; Veta F., born July 12,
1899; William D., born September 5, 1901, now serving in
the United States Navy; Burton J., born July 3, 1903;
Winnie W., born February 9, 1906; Ida V., born August
4, 1908; Solomon D., born December 29, 1909; Virgil D.,
born November 20, 1911; Kelso L., born January 4, 1914;
Mary E., born December 8, 1915; Henry F., born in Septem-
ber, 1917, and died January 1, 1918; and Robert M., born
April 19, 1919.

The family are members of the United Brethren Church,
of which Mr. Westfall is a trustee. He is a democrat and
served as president of his local Board of Education two
years.

The History of West Virginia, Old and New
Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc.,
Chicago and New York, Volume III,
pg. 407

ULYSSES G. YOUNG has the prestige accruing from thirty
years of able practice as a lawyer in Upshur County, and
in that time he has carried many of the responsibilities
of leadership in his home county and community. He is
also a banker.

Mr. Young, who is senior member of the law firm of
Young & McWhorter at Buckhannon, was born in Har-
rison County, West Virginia, January 22, 1865, son of
Joseph A. and Mary V. (Griffith) Young, the former a
native of Monroe County, West Virginia, and the latter of
Augusta County, Virginia. Joseph A. Young after his mar-
riage settled on a farm in Harrison County, and was one
of the hard working and substantial citizens of that sec-
tion. He and his wife were members of the Presbyterian
Church and he was a republican. There were eight chil-
dren: Maggie, wife of B. H. Paugh; Ida M., wife of
Burget Swisher; Esther, deceased; Ulysses G.; Mary V.,
wife of M. R. Creslip; E. L., of Barbour County; Kate
B., wife of C. E. Creslip; and W. H. Young, a farmer in
Upshur County.

Ulysses G. Young, while growing up on the farm, had
formulated plans for a professional career. His common
school education he supplemented in the National Normal
University at Lebanon, Ohio, from which he graduated
with the degree Bachelor of Science and the law degree
LL. B. He then returned to Buckhannon, took the exam-
ination before three judges and was admitted to the West
Virginia bar, and since then has been steadily engaged
in a general civil and criminal practice in the courts of
this district. Mr. Young is vice president of the Traders
National Bank of Buckhannon and also its attorney.
Among other interests he and a brother own a thousand
acres in Barbour County.

Mr. Young was elected a member of the State Senate
in 1894, and represented his district in the sessions of
1895 and 1897. He is one of the trustees of the Wesleyan
College at Buckhannon and is treasurer of the permanent
trust fund of the Methodist Conference. He is a past
chancellor of the Knights of Pythias and a member of the
Masonic Order, and belongs to the Official Board of the
Methodist Episcopal Church.

On July 11, 1893, Mr. Young married Lillie C. Pifer.
She graduated from the Buckhannon Academy and spent
one year in the Boston Conservatory of Music. Mr. and
Mrs. Young have four children: Mary E., who is a grad-
uate of Goucher College of Baltimore with the A. B. de-
gree, is the wife of W. S. Jacob; Marjorie C., who grad-
uated A. B. from Wesleyan College at Buckhannon; Ulysses
6., Jr., who is a student in Wesleyan College; and Rich-
ard W., in high school.

The History of West Virginia, Old and New
Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc.,
Chicago and New York, Volume III,
pg. 414
Upshur

THADDEUS K. WINGROVE. Wingrove is a name that has
been identified with West Virginia community life for
considerably more than a century. The first American
ancestor of the French Creek citizen named above was
John Wingrove, who was born in England about 1750,
came to America at the age of seventeen, lived in Ver-
mont, where he married, and later moved to Virginia and
finally to West Virginia, establishing his home in Marshall
County, where he lived out his life. His son, William Win
grove, was founder of the family in Upshur County and
was a millwright by trade. His son, Harrison Wingrove,
married Maria Peebles, and they were the parents of Mar-
shall P. Wingrove, who was born in Braxton County, West
Virginia, November 20, 1834. Marshall P. Wingrove grew
up in the French Creek community, acquired a good educa-
tion, and after his marriage settled at French Creek, where
he continued farming and the milling business the rest of
his life. He was an elder and liberal supporter of the
French Creek Presbyterian Church, and was a very active
prohibitionist in politics. In 1858 Marshall P. Wingrove
married Roxanna Anderson, who was born in Frenchton,
Upshur County, March 19, 1834, daughter of James and
Sarah (Syron) Anderson, who settled in Upshur County
from old Virginia. Of the seven children of Marshall P.
Wingrove and wife six are now living: Warren, of San
Francisco; Oscar, of British Columbia; Maude, wife of I.
J. Dunn, an attorney at Omaha, Nebraska; Miriam, wife
of J. S. Curry, of Cleveland, Ohio; Thaddeus K.; and
Clarence, a farmer and poultryman at French Creek.

Thaddeus K. Wingrove was born near French Creek
April 9, 1871. He grew up there, acquired a public school
education, and also attended the U. B. Academy at Buck-
hannon. Since leaving college his years have been steadily
devoted to his trade as a carpenter and to his interests as
a farmer. He also looks after his farm of sixteen acres
half a mile southeast of French Creek. Mr. Wingrove is a
democrat in polities, is affiliated with the Modern Wood-
men of America, and is an elder in the French Creek Pres-
byterian Church and a teacher in the Sunday School.

February 6, 1900, he married Miss Mayme Phillips, who
was born at French Creek October 9, 1875. They have one
son, C. Lyle, born March 19, 1906, now attending school
at French Creek.

Biographical Sketches of Members of Congress, Members of the Legislature,
Officers of the State Governement and judges of the Supreme Court of Appeals,
West Virigina, 1917

Source:
West Virginia Legislative Hand Book and Manual and Official Register, 1917,
Compiled and Edited by John T. Harris, Clerk of the Senate,
The Tribune Printing Co., Charleston, West Va.
pgs. 719 – 770

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES

pg. 722

ARNOLD, GOHEN CLARKE. (Republican.) Ad-
dress: Buckhannon. Born in Buckhannon, Upshur county,
January 5, 1885; educated in the common schools, at West
Virginia Conference Seminary and West Virginia Uni-
versity, receiving the degree of A. B.; is a practicing attor-
ney; graduated from West Virginia University law school
with the degree of LL. B.; elected to the Senate from the
Thirteenth District in 1916; is a hold-over senator; in
1917 had committee assignments as follows: Joint Com-
mittee on the part of the Senate on Enrolled Bills (Chair-
man); Judiciary, Claims and Grievances, Forestry and
Conservation, Counties and Municipal Corporations, Pro-
hibition and Temperance, Labor,lRoads and Navigation.

The History of West Virginia, Old and New
Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc.,
Chicago and New York, Volume III,
pg. 409-410

BLAINE ZICKEFOOSE is a prosperous farmer and dairy-
man of Upshur County, where his excellent farm of 137
acres is situated three miles west of Buckhannon, the
county seat. He was born on the homestead farm of his
father in Upshur County, and the date of his nativity was
November 1, 1885. He is a son of George W. and Jane
(Light) Zickefoose, both likewise natives of this county
and representatives of old and honored families of this
section of West Virginia. George W. Zickefoose was born
in August, 1843, and his wife was born in 1844, her death
having occurred in 1893. The father was successfully
identified with farm industry in his native county through
his entire active career, and is still the owner of a farm
of 125 acres, the major part of his landed estate having
been divided among his children. He is a republican and
is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
as was also his wife. Of their eleven children the follow-
ing are living, and of the number the subject of this sketch
is the youngest: J. S. Elias and Alvin are prosperous
farmers in Upshur County; Eli resides at Hamlock, this
county, and is a merchant by vocation; Elliott and Arte-
mus are substantial farmers of Upshur County, and the
latter also conducts a feed store in the Village of Alton;
and Delbert is a merchant at Alton.

Blaine Zickefoose was reared to the sturdy discipline of
the home farm and early gained experience that has proved
of great value to him in his independent farm operations.
He supplemented the training of the public schools by at-
tending the West Virginia Wesleyan College and by a
course in a business college at Parkersburg. He has had
no desire to sever his allegiance to the basic industries
of agriculture and stock-raising, and is one of the pro-
gressive farmers and dairymen of his native county. He
is aligned in the ranks of the republican party, is af-
filiated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and
he and his wife are members of Reger Chapel of the
Methodist Episcopal Church.

In December, 1910, Mr. Zickefoose married Miss Lura
M. Reger, who likewise was born and reared in Upshur
County, and they have two children: Martin W., who was
born August 27, 1913; and Tuttle B., who was born Sep-
tember 28, 1916.